Last week, I hinted that I wanted to add some sort of embellishment to the binding for the Tropical Birds Crossover project I've been working on forEVER!
Well, I'm happy to say the project is DONE, and I want to show you what I chose to do to spark up the binding instead of covered cord piping.
Instead of adding piping, I added a line of stitching at the binding/border seam. I chose binding fabric to match the border, then chose a bright orange hand-dyed variegated perle cotton thread as an accent. I used size 8 perle cotton and a size 3 milliners needle for the stitching.
I chose to use the Portuguese knotted stem stitch. Each stitch starts with a stem stitch (shown below) . . .
. . . then you draw the thread through twice right behind the last two stem stitches. I used the eye of the needle to push the thread through so the point wouldn't separate the threads or get stuck in the fabric.
The result is a bumpy/textured like of stitches that kinda look like a chain stitch with a little knotted bead.
This stitch adds wonderful textured color right at the binding/border seam.
Since I carried the threads through the batting, the perle cotton doesn't show through to the back of the quilt.
. . .and DONE!
Lots of texture in this piece!
As a reminder, this quilt started with a stitch chart ("Rainforest Beautiful" from Vickery Collection scroll down a bit past the middle), then took advantage of the Stitchery Crossover technique to incorporate the stitched piece into a quilted project.
The next stop for this quilt, after a few label and packaging preparations, is a quilt show in the Rochester area later this month.
If you're headed to the Genesee Valley QuiltFest, I'll have three quilts in the show, including this one. That is, assuming I can get my act together to get my entries stuffed in a box and shipped off in time!
Okay! Enough of this project. Something different next time, I promise!
Happy Stitching!
Head Hummingbird
Hummingbird-Highway.com
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